Background to my birth - Official Sri Premananda website

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Satsang with Swamiji – Background to my birth
My Turn – Notes from my diary: on tour in Sri Lanka,
by Parameshwari, France
The Poobalakrishna Temple Opening – 26th February 2015
By Mr. C.V. Wigneswaran, Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s
Northern Province
Speech given at the workshops „Unity of Religions”,
By Mr. S. Raghavan
Ashram Children
Extra-curricular classes: Creating Water Awareness
The One Without Name Or Form
Let Us Believe
“Let us totally surrender to the Supreme One without name or form!”
Swami Premananda
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
Satsang with Swamiji
Background to my birth
You have asked me to talk a little about my birth and so I thought I
would like to tell you all something about my place of birth, its
geography, its culture and spiritual heritage. Also I will tell you a little
about some well-known people who had connections with my family
long before I was born. I was born in Matale in Sri Lanka. However,
my father was an Indian from Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu, who
had come to Sri Lanka as a youth and there married my mother.
The town of Matale is situated in the central mountain region of Sri
Lanka, 700 feet above sea level. It is surrounded by natural hillcountry environment with sparkling rivers and pure water springs.
Spices and various plantations of cloves, cardamoms, nutmeg, cocoa,
rubber, coconut, tea and coffee flourish in this place. There is a very
powerful temple in Matale. It is dedicated to the Divine Mother in her somewhat fierce form of
Muthumariamman. It is said that the temple’s stone image of the Goddess manifested naturally
from the ground. Many years ago, some labourers were digging in the soft earth when their tools
struck something hard. They saw blood oozing from the earth. When they looked closely and
moved the earth away from where the blood came, they found a beautiful statue of
Muthumariamman. At the same time a divine sound was heard and a lovely fragrance pervaded
the area, which lingered for a long time after the divine discovery. Day by day the people of
Matale felt the mystical mother statue’s powerful energy increasing.
The magnificent Matale temple was built up around the statue of the Goddess. It was a grand
temple and it became famous for its yearly festival with a splendid procession. One of the temple’s
five impressive chariots was made of pure sandalwood. It was beautifully fashioned with the
expert carvings of skilled artisans. When the star of Magha is in its aspect during the Tamil month
of Maci from February 15th to March 15th, the great festival starts. During the grand celebrations it
takes twenty-four hours for the cart to travel around all the main streets. Inside the wonderful
cart is another statue of Muthumariamman, which was made especially to be taken outside the
temple which is called the utsavamurti. During this festival time, at least one hundred thousand
devotees, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, gather together and join the procession and festivities.
To one side of the temple’s beautiful flower garden, there is a small hill. My first Ashram was
situated on the top of this hill. I was born in a place called Mandandawela in Matale. After I was
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
five years old I went to stay with my grandmother in Kottuwaggedara, Matale. There are histories
of two great souls that I should tell which are an integral and important part of my own history.
The first is of the great saint, Swami Paramaguru. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, this
enlightened soul made the journey from South India to my birthplace, Matale, and settled there.
He was a liberated saint, a siddha, which means gifted and powerful.
He used to wear only a green coloured cloth around his waist. He rarely moved from his small
ashram at Mandandawela. Without moving from his seat, he used to tell the local youngsters
where the fruits were hanging ripe on the trees in Matale. He only ate the flesh of the purplecoloured king yam or mung beans.
At that time, a well-known political leader, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, became the Swami’s
ardent devotee. The politician published a book about the saint. Even today, Sir Ponnambalam
Ramanathan’s statue stands in front of Sri Lanka’s parliament hall. Swami Paramaguru attained
samadhi (left the body) in Matale. His body was placed in the ground and a small temple was built
over it. Sir Ramanathan went to the sacred town of Kashi in North India and from there he
brought a sacred Shivalingam. He placed it over the saint’s body where it still stands to this day.
This was the first place in Sri Lanka where a Kashi Lingam was installed. The Sri Lankan Sinhalese
Buddhists and the Tamil Hindu and Muslim devotees all came to see it and get the blessing of the
lingam, a symbol of the Hindu religion. They understood that a divine energy was contained within
the great soul’s burial-place. Such a place is also known as a samadhi. This was no ordinary
samadhi. Swami Paramaguru left his body in two places at the same time – a miracle that was
witnessed by his devotees and a happening that defeats explanation by any scientist. He had not
only attained samadhi in Matale but also at the foot of the Keerimalai Mountain in Jaffna, northern
Sri Lanka. There is a second shrine dedicated to him in this place also.
When my granny was small she was a very spiritual and service-minded little girl. She loved to
visit the old saint and cook the king yams for him and she went to see him every day to help him.
After she had cooked the purple vegetable, he would take some and ask her to distribute it to all
the children who used to come and play near him. She observed that no matter how many
children came, there was always enough prasadam (blessed food) for everyone. The elderly
Swamiji blessed my granny very much and predicted my birth to her. She never forgot his words
and she often recalled them when she talked to her only daughter, Pushpakanthi, my mother. That
is why she recognized me early in life and she spent much time with me, teaching me about
practical spirituality and our traditional culture. I loved my granny very much and I used to wash
her clothes and serve her food. She was a great lady who supported me on my spiritual path.
Remembering her example, I will support you all and encourage you to follow the great path of
spirituality.
Jai Prema Shanti!
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My Turn
Notes from my diary: on tour in Sri Lanka
By Parameshwari, France
Early morning, 23rd February, 2015,
Colombo, Sri Lanka.
There are about fifty of us in the bus that is
going to take us on a tour of this magical
island where our dear Guruji, Swami
Premananda, chose to incarnate, more than
sixty years ago. His statue is traveling along
with us. Could it be that Swami is driving the
bus to God, as he liked to say? I have a
strong feeling that he is!
We leave “CETRAC”, the place where we
had been accommodated during the
International Premananda Conference, and
head off to Kataragama, an important place of
pilgrimage for Lord Muruga and initiation into
his worship. The road is beautiful and we
take in the sights of the country – the
luxuriant vegetation, the island’s many charms.
We stop at the seaside; it’s a pleasure to wet
our feet. We take photos and the sea seems
to smile at us. We arrive at the hotel chosen
by our Sri Lankan friends.
It is very
welcoming and after a hearty lunch we set off
to discover Kataragama. It’s a huge place
through which a sacred river flows, and we
see some women bathing, carefree and happy.
There’s a peaceful atmosphere here... the only
disturbance is the unsightly rubbish dirtying
the riverbank; apparently purity and
cleanliness do not necessarily go together.
We cross the bridge to go to the temple;
dewy-eyed cows wander nonchalantly along
the roadside. We arrive in time for the puja
to Ganesha. There are no statues of the deity
visible, only big, colourful, sequined drawings.
The atmosphere is fiery; bells peal as zealous
devotees pull on the ropes that hang within
their reach. A strong energy permeates the
air. The officiating priest, dark-skinned and
black-haired, wears a yellow cloth over his
mouth when he offers the prasadam to the
deity and performs the worship, which lends
an even more exotic air to the ritual. Next
we attend the Muruga puja in the main shrine.
The temple is resplendently decorated; the
ritual is powerful; the devotees’ devotion
intense. In this manner we go on to all the
different shrines that are here. We pass by a
big sacred tree and I am struck by its majestic
strength; many people are meditating around
this tree, surrounded by little oil lamps they
have lit.
The more energetic among us walk on further
to a stupa (a Buddhist sanctuary housing a
relic of the Buddha). It’s already dark and
some of us are so tired that we stop to sit on
the pavement near to some lotus sellers. It is
a happy atmosphere and the women selling
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
flowers don’t hesitate to strike up a
conversation with us. We take our leave of
this important spiritual place by singing a
bhajan to Muruga. A night in a hotel and the
next day we are ready to start off again....
February 24th, 2015
Those who like take a morning swim in the
hotel’s swimming pool, just as the sun is rising
over the coconut palms... delightful! Before
taking the road to Kandy (a town in the Sri
Lankan mountains) we first go back to
Kataragama to greet Lord Ganesha in his
temple at the water’s edge and to receive his
blessings. We dip our feet into the sacred
waters of the holy river and find ourselves
surrounded by a school of silver fishes, which
some people are busy feeding. It was here
that the famous ‘hair wonder’ took place.
When Swamiji was nine years old his mother
took him to Kataragama and offered his hair
to the ‘Manika Gangai’ river, in order to fulfill
a vow they had made. When his hair fell into
the water it divided into nine strands - an
attestation to his age perhaps? The sacred
number of the Divine Mother?
magnificent Ravana Falls and refresh ourselves
in the little pools of water; then back on the
road. A mist settles above the forest and the
atmosphere changes completely; the sky is
now clouded, a little fog, a little rain, an
autumnal scene. We stop near a lake for
lunch - green meadows, grazing horses; we
could be in Great Britain. It’s understandable
why the British settlers chose to stay here
during the dry season. Once again we take to
the ever-winding road. We stop to climb up
to a temple dedicated to Hanuman that has
the world’s tallest statue of this god. This
peaceful place is situated on the flank of a
mountain and blue mists float on the
landscape.
The temple is plain and beautiful. Next to the
statue of Lord Ganesh is a lingam that
continues to grow in size; it has a very
particular energy.
On our way back to the bus someone stops
to buy us some Sri Lankan sweets, ‘dodol’,
made of coconut and jaggery and tells us that
they are a Sri Lankan delicacy that Swamiji
liked very much.
The bus is now driving to Kandy along a
winding road and slowly we ascend higher and
higher into the hills. We stop to view the
Everyone at the river Manika Gangai in
Kataragama where Swamiji’s hair miracle
happened.
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
We attend the Hanuman puja; the priest
invites us to sit down for the final arati and
birds are flying in and out of the temple. It is
the last song; the birds alight on the tops of
the columns and, with all their heads turned
to Hanuman, begin to chirp cheerfully. It
seems as if all of nature is happily taking part
in the arati! Now the priest climbs the stairs
on the side of the statue to take down the
garlands of ring-shaped lentil cakes (‘vadai’)
that had been offered to the god; they will be
handed out to the faithful on their way out.
We all board the bus to begin the long
descent. A Sri Lankan devotee tells us a story
about Swami that happened on these very
roads... Swamiji was in the car on his way to a
programme he had been invited to conduct,
and the driver, one of his devotees, was
complaining about the winding roads and the
length of the travel ahead. He made the
suggestion that his own family had an estate
close-by and they could stop there overnight
and postpone the programme.
Swami
answered by telling him to close his eyes and
keep driving! You can imagine the
astonishment of the driver, who at first
refused but then decided to comply. He
closed his eyes and Swamiji snapped his
fingers; the driver then opened his eyes and,
to his great amazement, saw that they were
now on the other side of the pass, at least 18
kilometers further!
As we continue on our way children dart
from one side of the road to the other, trying
to sell us flowers. We finally arrive in Kandy
and stop at a nice hotel on a hillside. Dinner
and then a good night’s rest.
February 25th, 2015
This morning we rise and dress in white. We
are going to the famous Buddhist temple in
Kandy, the Temple of Buddha’s Tooth. The
tooth was found in the cremation ashes of the
Buddha and, in times past, its possession gave
one great political power. The relic is kept in
a beautiful silver reliquary and we try to get a
glimpse of it as we pass by, but we have to
move so quickly that it’s impossible. We sit
down for a brief moment and try to meditate
and imbibe the good energy of this place.
Afterwards, we visit the museum where are
kept various artifacts used in the rituals that
have taken place here over the centuries.
Some painted panels tell the story of the
Buddha’s tooth and how it came to be in
Kandy. Moved with emotion, I touch the
silver locket with Swamiji’s hair that I wear
around my neck. I feel lucky; we are lucky.
Once more I think about the fact that his
mission is just beginning; who will preciously
care for this locket after me? Here a big
temple was built for one of the Buddha’s
teeth; somewhere else a stupa was built for
one of the Buddha’s hairs. As for Swamiji...
we each have a locket with his hair that we all
hold close to our hearts; always this greatness
given with such simplicity!
Now we are on our way to Matale, where
Swamiji was born. We arrive and walk to the
Muthumariamman Temple, built in 1852, a
very colourful, luminous building. We come
in time for the ritual. The priest is showing
some symbols to the goddess; it’s an
important moment. Panoramic nature
landscapes, waterfalls, peacocks and, strangely
enough, fields of Dutch tulips adorn the walls
behind the altar and this profusion of colour
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
brightens up the whole place. Some statues,
placed on palanquins and carried on men’s
shoulders, are being carried out of the temple.
So many people; so much devotion. The
person next to me rightly remarks on how
much this temple resembles the Sri
Premeshvarar Temple in the Ashram. And
truly, in Matale we can recognize many
similarities with things in the Ashram in India
and it shows how strongly Swamiji has
‘stamped his mark’ on the Ashram. Next we
proceed to the ‘Gandhi Memorial Hall’, a
mystical place related to the growth of
Swamiji’s mission. In fact, Swamiji had been
invited to use this building, situated in the
heart of Matale, when he had no other place
that was large enough to hold all his followers.
This was the time and place where he started
his first ashram called ‘Sarva Mata Shanti
Nilayam’.
The hall and ashram were largely destroyed at
the start of the Sri Lankan civil war and the
memorial hall is now in the process of being
rebuilt in a grander way, yet we manage to
enter one of the rooms in construction....it is
very moving. Nearby and across the road
there are some old buildings, including a guest
house that was already standing at the time
when Swamiji lived here and where devotees
used to stay when they came to visit Swamiji
at the Matale Ashram. As we are leaving I
pick up a stone and take it with me, a material
testimony of this place; after all, Swamiji’s feet
trod upon this land!
We walk towards the school that Swamiji
attended, the Christ Church College, not far
from the Gandhi Hall. As we approach the
gate some children laugh and playfully gesture
from the balcony trying to get our attention.
Photos top to
bottom:
The
Muthumariamman
temple,
Construction work
at the Gandhi
Memorial Hall,
Swamiji’s birth
house being
renovated.
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
We can easily imagine Swami here at that
same age, speaking to us and laughing. We
leave the school and go to the house where
Swamiji was born, a small, modest home. We
enter into the room where he was born; the
house is still occupied by a family member and
it has since been renovated. The part in front
of the house that had been the shop has been
torn down earlier, when the main road was
widened. I like to imagine that one day a
plaque will announce that on November 17,
1951, a great holy man was born and spent his
youth here. Perhaps it will become a place of
pilgrimage.
At this point of the trip I develop a high fever
and so I will absent myself from some of the
sightseeing. Nevertheless, I can recount some
of it. Before leaving Matale we visit the
samadhi of Swami Paramaguru, the holy man
who announced to Swamiji’s grandmother –
who at that time was one of his young
devotees – that an important spiritual person
would be born in her linage.
After a lunch break, the road leads us to
Anuradhapura, where we visit a well-known
Buddhist temple and then stop for the night at
a beautiful lakeside hotel.
February 26th, 2015
Today is a special day as we will be
inaugurating the new temple of the
Puliyankulam Ashram. We bring out Swamiji’s
statue which had traveled with us and
everyone has a chance to hold it for a little
time in his or her hands. It is then placed on a
palanquin, carried on the shoulders of a few
devotees. We are given a royal welcome...
Christ Church College where Swamiji studied
until 8th standard.
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
garlands, majorettes, rosettes; a feast of
yellows and reds. A banner held up by Sri
Lankan devotees reads: “Swami Premananda
International
Conference
Delegates,
Welcome!” A solemn moment; we have the
feeling that they were really waiting for us, for
this moment! We walk the hundred or so
meters up to the Ashram. There are many
children, many smiling faces. Refreshments are
served and we are invited to take our places
in the newly built temple. Now begins the last
stage of a ritual in honour of Krishna,
performed by Brahmin priests. The Krishna
statue they have just installed in the temple is
the one that was materialized from flower
petals by a young Swami Premananda. The
ceremony continues and includes songs, girls
performing devotional dances, speeches,
distribution of prizes and gifts such as
schoolbags, sewing machines and bicycles to
school children, widows and needy people.
We sing some bhajans and Mr. Wigneswaran
leads us in a song, which reminds us of the
times he would conduct the bhajans sessions
on Mahashivaratri nights, when Swamiji gave
birth to lingams.
All together we go to a small building with a
thatched roof where we share a meal served
on banana leaves. We can see that life in this
Ashram is lived very simply and very close to
nature; an ideal place for a spiritual retreat. A
sannyas disciple and her mother live here and
have an ascetic lifestyle.
The day comes to an end and we return to
Colombo, where we will spend our last night
before leaving Sri Lanka the following day.
Some of us will be returning to the Ashram in
India, while the others will travel home to
their respective countries. I, myself, am happy
Samadhi temple of Swami Paramaguru, the saint
who predicted Swamiji’s birth to his grandmother.
to be returning to the Ashram; otherwise I
would feel as if something were missing. I
want to close the circle, to return to where
Swami rooted his mission and gave it a base
on this Earth; there where his samadhi is and
where his spiritual flame will burn for 2500
years, as he told us in a satsang in 2010.
Traveling through this country of Sri Lanka, so
tropical, so green and so full of flowers, I can
understand why Swami had such a love of
plants and gardens and the power of this
nature – all of it the Divine Mother, the
Shakti, expressing herself through the lush and
exuberant flora.
To start with basically nothing – only stones
and arid earth, furrowed soil where nothing
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
grows easily, a windswept land deserted by
birds and humans alike – and turn that arid
piece of land in Tamil Nadu into a beautiful
living temple to the Divine Mother, a place
where everyone who comes can receive and
feel her love, was a tremendous challenge.
You were able to do this Swami... and so
much more. We need to follow your example
and turn our dry hearts into friendly temples
where all are welcome; temples so green and
full of flowers, harbouring a multitude of
colours and expressions, where all beings can
live together, where all can quench their thirst
for truth, and all this guided by the love of our
dear Guruji, Swami Premananda, the divine
child born in Matale, Sri Lanka.
Everyone who attended the conference and
travelled up North to Puliyankulam received a
warm and beautiful welcome. A statue of Swami
Premananda was carried to the new temple
proceeded by a marching band and dancers.
The Poobalakrishna Temple Opening
26th February 2015
This is an extract from the speech given by Mr. C.V. Wigneswaran, Chief Minister of
Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, on the occasion of the opening of the Poobalakrishna
Temple in Puliyankulam, Sri Lanka.
It is indeed a dream come true! Here we are today, gathered together at the opening of this Sri
Poobalakrishna Temple in Puliyankulam. At the time of Swamiji’s Samadhi we had no idea that
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
such a temple would ever be built or opened. Even when I became the Chief Minister of the
Northern Province in 2013, I still had no idea that this temple could be built. When I laid the
foundation, installing a small statue of Balakrishna into it (one that had been materialized by
Swamiji and given to my family), I could not imagine how this temple would ever come to be
constructed, nor how soon it would be completed.
But slowly the dream started unfurling, a dream which
Swamiji slowly instilled into our minds, into our hearts, into
our psyches. Then the desire to build came; the finances to
start the work came; help came from many quarters. While
our sister Thalatha was concentrating on the International
Conference in Colombo, we fixed a similar concentration on
the building of this temple in Puliyankulam in the North. Our
synchronized activities have now melded to create this
wonderful result. Those of you who participated in the
International Conference now have this chance to be with us
at this opening ceremony day.
In May of 1975, following Swamiji’s advice, a Mataji, together with her mother and other members
of her family, built a small hut and took up residence here in the Northern Province. At that time
Swamiji was in Matale in the Central Province. When Mataji came here in 1975, Swamiji was only
24 years old and already many devotees were flocking to Matale.
That year, during Krishna Jayanthi, with a lot of devotees congregating at Matale Gandhi Hall, a
miracle took place. Swamiji asked the devotees to make a pile of flowers. They all brought
flowers and placed them before Swamiji on the vacant space in front of him. Swamiji then placed
his hands into the heap of flowers and took out a Balakrishna statue about nine to ten inches in
height. This statue has grown a lot. Poo in Tamil means flower and Bala means child.
Poobalakrishnan, as the statue was named, means the Balakrishnan who was born out of flowers.
In July 1983, during the riots when Swamiji’s Ashram in Matale was burnt, he also brought the
Poobalakrishna statue here to Puliyankulam and gave it to the Mataji and her mother to look after.
He brought the orphaned children from Matale to here.
In fact, in 1984 Mahashivaratri was celebrated here. Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne came that day. I was
District Judge at Mallakam in the Northern Province then. I had come to know Swamiji around
1981, at the residence of Mr. Shanmuganayakam. I attended the Mahashivaratri of 1983 in
Chunnakam, when Swamiji was at his Ashram there. Since he invited me to attend Mahashivaratri
at Puliyankulam in 1984, I made it a point to attend it there too. Later Swamiji set up his Ashram
in Trichy, in India, and took the orphan children with him.
In 1996 the war compelled Mataji and her family to leave everything behind here, including
Poobalakrishnan, and run for safety to Mallaavi and Vavunikulam. They came back in 2003 but
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
Poobalakrishnan was gone! They searched and searched but there was no information forthcoming
as to where he had gone. But when we asked Swamiji in Cuddalore prison, he said
Poobalakrishnan would come back. In the year 2005, suddenly the statue was found somewhere
within the precincts of this Ashram.
Then, in 2009, once again Mataji and her family had to leave this area, due to the final, brutal stages
of the war when many war crimes were being committed. That was the time when over a lakh
(100.000) of people were killed in these areas. This time Mataji took Poobalakrishnan with her to
Puthukudiyiruppu, in the North, quite far away from here. When she returned she brought
Krishna back safely with her. She and her family performed pujas to Poobalakrishnan with great
devotion.
This temple is the outcome and fruition of sheer bhakti (devotion) on the part of Mataji and, very
especially, her mother. Mataji’s mother was the one who had the dream of constructing a proper
temple. It is her dream that has come to pass. Their bhakti has built this temple. None of us had
anything to do with it. Their bhakti has moved mountains; their bhakti moved Krishna, their
bhakti moved Swamiji and finally we all became the instruments who helped to fulfill their dream.
The Poobalakrishna Temple is not a mere temple. It bears the stamp of the bakthas’ (devotees)
qualities, of their devotion. It is the culmination of sheer hope and hard work. Here they do
annadhanam by offering food to children and others on Sundays and full-moon days. They teach
religion to children on Sundays. But they would also like to develop the Ashram. While the new
temple will doubtlessly attract many public devotees, they would also like to have Swamiji’s
devotees come to the Ashram. They would like for people to build kudils, similar to those in the
Trichy Ashram, so that the devotees could come and stay here as long as they like. But when they
leave they should allow others to use the kudils, until such time as they return. We are presently
looking into this possibility.
Thalatha had wanted to do up the room that Swamiji used, which is situated behind this temple,
and make it into a meditation hall. I am sure Nath, her husband, will want to fulfill her dream. She
herself will no doubt push Nath to make her dream come true! She was there on the 22nd
February during the bhajans, watching from the side where Swamiji’s chair had been placed, as was
brought out by the picture taken by her daughter-in-law. So, through Nath, Thalatha will continue
to be a part of this project.
Let us build up an ashram and temple that will be distinct and stand out from others because of
the great devotion of the devotees and divinity of their guru. I am happy to be among you. I call
upon all of you, Swamiji’s bhaktas, to keep in touch with Puliyankulam. Come and visit here
whenever you come to Sri Lanka. Stay and rest awhile in the presence of Poobalakrishnan, whose
energy pervades this whole area. Enjoy the rural setting. Come here in numbers to understand
and get to know the simple lifestyle of our people.
Jai Prema Shanti!
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
Photos from top to bottom:
Carrying the statue of Swami
Premananda in procession to
the Poobalakrishna temple.
Main shrine with
Poobalakrishna and, to the
right, a shrine for Swami
Premananda.
Distribution of new sewing
machines and Bharata Natyam
dance performance in the
temple.
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
Speech given at the workshops “Unity of Religions”
by Mr. S. Raghavan
(Continuation of last month)
Now I will come back to the question I
posed at the beginning. Jesus Christ was
never a Christian, Allah was never a Muslim,
Buddha was not a Buddhist and Shiva was not
a Hindu. Truth, compassion, love and
righteousness - that is God’s religion. All the
differences and divisions made in the name of
religions are the creation of human beings,
perhaps made with good noble intentions but
it is unfortunate that they are not serving the
purpose for which they were created – to
see unity amongst diversity.
Jesus Christ told his disciples, “If you love
your Father in heaven, love his children as I
love them and serve them.” Prophet
Mohammed called upon his followers: “Do
you love your creator? If so, love your
brethren and fellow men. Otherwise you are
a liar.” Lord Buddha preached Kamma, Metta
and Karuna and said, “Spread compassion,
love and peace amongst people and that is
the highest religion.” In Saivaism, it is said:
“Anbe Shivam” – love is God.
In our beautiful country, blessed with
comparatively few natural disasters, you may
have witnessed or heard about the very
recent events involving the many changes
taking place externally and also internally, in
the thinking minds of all those rightly
analyzing when and where we went wrong.
What did we do wrong that has led to the
many man-made disasters we see today? I
believe that if we put these little thoughts
into practice - these thoughts which I have
gathered from Swamiji and shared with you
today - it can lead to radical positive changes,
not only in our country but also throughout
the entire world. It can make this world a
better place to live in, for us and for all
generations to come. Swamiji repeatedly
said: “I am always with you. Call out for me; I
am always ready to help you. Never forget that.”
Hence, we can rest assured that his blessings
will be there for us in all our endeavours.
Swami always said that we should not only
pray or hope for external changes; real
change should take place within us, not
outside of us.
The wall in Swamiji’s Ashram in Sri Lanka, with
photographs of the saints of various religions.
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
Since I am involved with training in leadership
development, I would like to deviate a little
from the main topic and share some thoughts
that may interest you. You will surely agree
with me that in today’s world leadership
training has become very popular and we can
observe many gurus emerging in the western
world and coming out with fascinating
theories. It has become the fashion to attend
their courses, spending huge sums of money.
These theories keep on changing like new
versions of cars, computers and mobile
phones, the new one arriving on the market
and the old one becoming obsolete. We
sometimes fail to realize that most of these
theories were propounded in our religious
philosophies such a very long time back. Yet,
when the same comes from our religious
leaders, we are not prepared to take them
seriously and listen to them.
These western gurus started by talking about
the character ethics that our ancestors in the
East practiced very successfully and then
moved on to personality ethics.
Now,
realizing the limitations of these, they are
trying to turn back. They talked about
physical intelligence, moved on to mental and
then to emotional intelligence and now they
are talking about spiritual intelligence. The
first two are external manifestations and the
latter two internal. The famous management
guru, Stephen Covey, who authored ‘The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, now
talks about an eighth habit, “Listen to the
voice in you and inspire others to find their
own voice”.
As you will have realized by now, this is
exactly what our Swamiji did and what he
taught and it is also what our ancestral saints
practised so long ago. It is unfortunate that,
when we have such a wealth of spiritual
wisdom and knowledge here in the East, our
people, getting carried away by the
materialistic ‘joy and glory’ of the western
world, have opted to move away from these
principles and to start believing and imitating
the western world. And this just at a time
when the West is now realizing its faults and
limitations and has started to follow the
ancient eastern principles, trying, like Swamiji
says in his teachings, to look inward.
You can now understand the pathways taken.
The poet Robert Frost wrote: “Two roads
diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less
traveled by, and that has made all the
difference.” Like this everyone – old and
young, rich and poor, men and women –
chooses one of two roads in life. One is the
broad and well-traveled road to mediocrity, a
quick-fix, shortcut approach to life, and the
other is the road to greatness and meaning,
which involves a sequential growth from the
inside out, a difficult and time-consuming
road many do not take. As Robert Frost says
in his poem, please take this road to
greatness and meaning and you will succeed
in life and make others succeed too.
It was a wonderful experience meeting all of
you, nice and lovable members of Swami
Premananda’s global family. Thank you very
much for patiently listening and may Swamiji’s
blessings be with you always.
Live with the body, love with the heart, lead
with the mind and leave behind a legacy.
Once again, thank you.
Jai Prema Shanti.
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
Ashram Children
Extra-curricular Classes: Creating Water Awareness
An important aspect of environmental studies is raising children’s awareness about water. We give
attention to awareness about water on a local as well as on a global level. Over the past months
the children have learned about the importance of water in daily life, to respect water as a living
being, how to save and not waste water, what makes water clean or unclean and how to solve
various problems related to water.
World Water Day
In celebration of World Water Day, which is
on March 22 each year, four groups of
students from the ninth standard of
Premananda High School gave a presentation
of the local water problems and possible
solutions suitable to the rural arrears of Tamil
Nadu.
One group made a pledge in front of all
teachers and students of the school:
“We children pledge to organize Water Days
and we will join together to spread
information about saving water. We will go
to places where water is being wasted and
distribute written messages insisting that
people ‘Stop Wasting Water’. We will go to
villages and urge villagers not to waste water
but, instead, to use it to water plants and
make our area green. We plan to do what we
can to help provide water tanks to the
villagers so that they can collect rain water.
We will definitely go to the villages in groups
and talk about the collection of rain water.”
“It is only the divine grace of Lord Varuna (aspect of the divine for rain) that can provide pure
water, not only for countless generations of plants but also for all living beings on this earth,
including human beings.”
Swami Premananda
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
The One Without Name Or Form
Each month we are publishing one chapter from the book, ‘The One Without Name
Or Form’, Swami Premananda’s living message on how we can realize the true
purpose of our births, how we can approach ever closer to the one and eternal truth
that he experienced, lived and saw every moment of his life.
Let Us Believe
Whichever lifestyle we may choose to adopt it should certainly
be based on some form of faith. This world rotates in space
due to a kind of faith, as do all the other planets in the
universe. What kind of faith is this? It is the gravitational
force, a form of magnetic attraction that exists between space
and the Earth. It is what keeps the trees, plants, buildings, and
so forth, in place as the Earth spins and rotates around the
sun. This gravitational force is their belief in the Earth.
Similarly, all living beings have a strong faith in the air, sunlight
and water.
How were the five elements created? No one has yet found a
satisfactory answer and finally they conclude that nature must
have created these elements.
So what is the difference between nature and artificiality?
Artificial creations are discovered by human beings with the help
of nature. One of nature’s creations is the human being, possessing the faculty of the sixth sense.
Every day these human beings, men and women, discover or invent fabricated objects that they
think are essential to practical life. All these practical manufactured objects are artificial.
Now, in these modern times, people are even trying to artificially create an exact copy of a human
being by cloning. But even if they managed to succeed they would not be able to control the
development of the mind and intellect of such a person. Scientists cannot fully understand the
atomic particles because the atomic particles derived from the five elements. Is it possible for
human beings to create the five elements? No, absolutely not.
Continuing this line of thought brings us to the question of existence and non-existence. It is
important to establish what is existence and what is non-existence. In any field, in any activity,
whether natural or artificial, the answer is always the same. Whenever we try to research
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Prema Ananda Vahini MAY 2015
something with doubt and suspicion we will not be able to find the correct answer. Only when
we approach something with faith will we be able to find the definitive answer.
If, full of suspicion and doubt, we try to research whether or not there is a God, we will not be
able to find the true answer. Should we come to the conclusion that there is no God simply
because we are not able to find the answer? However, if we undertake this research with
confidence, being true to ourselves, then we will clearly perceive the existence of God. Everyone
who conscientiously undertakes this search will come to the same conclusion.
For political reasons or in support of our atheistic beliefs, or simply because of stubbornness, we
can keep on arguing about whether or not God exists. Some people who actually believe in the
existence of God still stubbornly love to debate with others, saying there is no proof of his
existence.
Today everything is advancing very rapidly. Everyone has the ability to realize the ultimate truth.
The time is getting ripe for the realization of truth. Even scientists are beginning to realize the
existence of an energy that is beyond the power of the mind’s comprehension. But because they
cannot see this energy with their physical eyes they still doubt the existence of God. The fact that
no one has been able to come to a positive conclusion about the existence of God gives rise to
such debates and doubts.
We can only feel the air. We can only touch the soil. We can only understand light by the heat it
gives. We can only understand space when we move or travel; it is not something we can see.
The creator of the five elements is the Supreme One without name or form. This Supreme One
is present everywhere but, like space, he is not visible. Therefore, we can only perceive his
power. Thinking in this way there is no denying God’s existence.
Who has seen this power? Who has felt this power? Who has understood this power? Who has
touched this power? Who has attained this great power? These are the questions that arise.
Holy men and women, great saints, siddhas, alwars, nayanmars, sages and self-realized souls have
seen, felt and communicated with this power. What is the use of speaking without understanding
the great words of wisdom spoken by these great souls?
Let us totally surrender to the Supreme One without name or form! Let his Divine Light set
ablaze the inner spark of light within you. Let us abide in that everlasting bliss! Believe! Believe in
God, for he does exist!
What pivot supports the Earth
As it revolves in space?
Believe!
Believe in the power within you;
Rise up and search for the truth!
Light the lamp of wisdom in your soul.